Don’t Blame the Governor

The media in Hawaii is up in arms about Gov. Linda Lingle’s trip to Iraq and the fact that it was kept a secret by those close to her who had concerns about the governor’s security.

The real problem is that Hawaii’s two daily newspapers printed editorials that, rather than celebrate the governor’s trip and meeting with Hawaii’s women and men in uniform, do not generate trust and confidence in Hawaii government.

If Gov. Linda Lingle had chosen one media crab to accompany her on the secret mission to Iraq, all the other media crabs would have torn the offending participant to pieces — just like in the KITV incident to Japan.

Never underestimate the local media’s ability to make a mountain out of a molehill — or to ask at the base of Mt. Everest, “What mountain?”

”’Mike Hu is a resident of Honolulu and can be reached by email at:”’ mailto:humikhu@aol.com

Hawaii Reporter is an award-winning, independent Hawaii-based news and opinion journal founded in 2001 and launched in February 2002. The journal's staff have won a number of top awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including the top investigative news reporting awards, business reporting awards, government reporting awards, and online news reporting awards.